What is the IRSS?
An Indigenous Ranger Sector Strategy (IRSS) is being developed to guide the future growth and empowerment of community-based Indigenous ranger organisations across Australia. The development and delivery of the Strategy will be a collaborative effort by Indigenous Australians, governments, and the private sector.
In April 2022, the National Indigenous Australians Agency (NIAA) released the Indigenous Ranger Sector Strategy - Consultation Draft. The Consultation Draft was informed by, and aims to respond to, feedback from Indigenous Rangers Program organisations currently funded by the Australian Government, Indigenous land and water development projects and state and territory government agencies. The NIAA consulted with interested stakeholders and received constructive feedback on the proposed approach.
Indigenous ranger organisations shared their aspirations and the challenges they face in program delivery and building organisational capacity.
The IRSS is designed for use by the sector (regardless of their source of funding), as well as governments, industry and other stakeholders. The document will outline a range of short, medium and long-term outcomes that require action by the sector, industry and governments.
Consultation
A strategy about the Indigenous ranger sector must be built around Indigenous people’s views, priorities and aspirations and input from their partners and other stakeholders. The starting point for the IRSS was to listen to what Australian Government funded ranger groups had to say about their challenges during the consultations held in 2020 to inform the extension of the Indigenous Rangers Program 2021-28.
Over May and June 2022, the NIAA held virtual workshops and invited interested stakeholders to have their say through surveys and written submissions. We heard from a total of 258 participants who participated through 44 surveys, 30 written submissions and 25 workshops.
The formal consultation period closed in July 2022 and the NIAA has concluded analysing the feedback provided.
Feedback from consultation
The NIAA appreciates all the stakeholder participation and feedback received on the Consultation draft.
We heard some valuable ideas from stakeholders about how to improve. Key themes included that the IRSS needs to better reflect the important connection between Country and culture and embody First Nations’ land and water management goals and Traditional Owner priorities. It was also clear that stakeholders want a greater emphasis on the importance of First Nations-led, local and regional initiatives to support sector development. A summary of what we heard from stakeholders is provided below.
Finalising the IRSS
The NIAA worked with a First Nations-led Indigenous Rangers Reference Group (IRRG) to incorporate feedback from the consultation into the IRSS, in consultation with other Commonwealth, state and territory partners.
It is anticipated the IRSS will be published later in 2026.
Indigenous Rangers Reference Group
The IRRG was established for an initial 2-year period which concluded in October 2025.
The membership included:
- 7 First Nations experts in Indigenous land and water management
- A representative from the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water’s Indigenous Advisory Committee
- An adviser from the NIAA.
During its term, the IRRG provided guidance to finalise the IRSS and provided advice to government on the expansion of the Indigenous ranger land and water management sector and other Indigenous Ranger strategic policy matters.
Feature your ranger group in the published Strategy
Do you have a photo or image that can be used to illustrate the great work your ranger group is doing?
If you have great photos showing Indigenous rangers carrying out their activities, please send them to us at IndigenousRangersConsultation@niaa.gov.au with a brief description, your contact details and your permission to use the photos PDF 928 KB | DOCX 1.2 MB. We are looking for a variety of contemporary photos - examples are land and water management in a variety of environments, biosecurity, using technology, working with youth, training and learning, working with partners.
Contact us
You can contact the NIAA for further information about the Strategy at IndigenousRangersConsultation@niaa.gov.au.